Letter to the Editor: Overboard - Changing HistoryThe South Carolina tragedy has triggered efforts by some to change history and place blame for the incident on the Confederate Flag which has existed for over 150-years. It represents different things to different people, but it has never committed a crime. Little Rock Mayor Stodola just agreed that Confederate Boulevard in little Rock should be renamed. What's next? Are the graves of the Confederate Soldiers in the cemetery there at risk of b...

Letter to the Editor: Ban fireworks inside of cityPart of city law on fireworks states that debris shall not land on neighbors property. As most lots are so small that this is impossible, common sense would dictate that fireworks that contain aerial bursts, should not be exploded in residential areas. Each year we have debris in our yard, and last night, while sitting outside, we had the remains of 5 rockets come down in our yard, one coming down less than a foot from our feet and sticking in...

Letter to the Editor: Fed up with unnecessary government over-regulationIt seems that our federal government will not be satisfied until it regulates the amount of air we breathe and the amount of water we drink. It seems that everything we do or touch has the government’s fingers of regulations attached in some way or another. Unnecessary regulations help government get even bigger with more and more power over all of us. This “big government” trend to control us all seems to have filtered from the federal level ...

Your VoiceA friendly reminder It has been a while since the rezoning election was held for the Walmart Neighborhood Market in Russellville. As you probably remember, Russellville voters approved a zoning change that allowed the company to build a new store at West Main Street and South Vancouver Avenue. That store opened for business in August 2014. Back more than a year ago, the talk in this space of The Courier was pretty much gloom and doom. If the z...

Plains and Eastern Line projectWhat would most people in our area say to a company that proposes to invest billions of private dollars in the state (no government subsidies) to expand America’s electric transmission infrastructure and create hundreds of Arkansas jobs? As a business owner and resident of Sebastian County, specifically, Fort Smith, I welcome the Plains and Eastern Clean Line project as a prime example of good old American capitalism at work. That means privat...

More Clean Line MythsI am writing in response to the people expressing pro-Clean Line Energy sentiments. Clean Line is rehashing arguments we have heard for three years. Let’s review. There are still no contracts to serve one customer in Arkansas, no matter how many Clean Line “could” serve. Arkansas is already using wind energy generated in Oklahoma with no need for new transmission lines. Clean Line proposes that their federal government partner, Southwestern Po...

Letter to the Editor: Clean Line thoughtsI’m writing to share my thoughts on the proposed Plains & Eastern Clean Line transmission project. I’m writing you as a citizen of Pope County. Perhaps most importantly, I’m writing to you as a grandfather in Pope County. I understand that this project has a few people in our county upset and I know where they’re coming from. See, this isn’t my first go around with an infrastructure project. Many years ago, the Interstate 40 came through behin...

Letter to the Editor: No more moneyI noticed the city has launched another “We Need More Money Campaign.” At first I thought I was not in favor of the city getting more money at this time, mainly because they spent over $3 million on North El Paso — a street to nowhere — with a bike lane and a sidewalk on both sides and all kinds of fancy signage and lights. And because of the Main Street project that was flawed and they blamed it on “bad dirt” — not to mention the big money th...

Letter to the EditorWe have no choice Isn’t it funny that 17 months into the extended one-cent sales tax, the city finance director tells us we need more? The sad fact is, he’s right. But what we don’t need to do is fund projects that are not completely necessary to the prolonged financial health of Russellville, as has been suggested. We need to fund the mandated replacement of the sewer system in Russellville. Mandated by a Consent Administrative Order (CAO) en...

To all Pope County law enforcementThis is a special Thank You to all the law enforcement in Pope County. I would like to say a special thanks to our law enforcement men and women for their great work. Just look in The Courier daily and see the arrests the police and Sheriff’s Department make every day. I hope they can have enough funds for the expenses they have. I believe they should have the support of all city and county residents. Thanks again for your work and the danger ...

Honor our police!The assassination of two New York City policemen is a clarion call to all Americans to unite and send a loud message of support for our law enforcement professionals across our country. I call upon our countywide elected officials to declare a Day of Appreciation to honor the two New York City policemen, our policemen and all law enforcement officers throughout Pope County, and put a banner at both ends of town saying “WE HONOR OUR POLICE.” Al...

Anti-gay marriage rally: who's the outsider?Dr. Owens, the speaker at the anti-gay marriage/tea party rally at City Hall tried to downplay the 3x larger pro-LGBT equality crowd across the street by claiming "they are [not] all from here." A quick look at her linkedin account shows her living in Henderson, Nev. She was the outsider entering my home town, not the larger group of supporters of LGBT Arkansans. Our country has evolved. Russellville seems to have even evolved. Soon, if not al...

CrematoriumIf there had ever been a clear and present danger to anyone, especially children, no, repeat no crematorium would ever be considered in any community or remote rural area in the state. This has nothing to do with children. The heavy equipment working near the school spews toxic exhaust all over the Center Valley School area. This has nothing to do with air quality. This has nothing to do with the personal integrity or economic interests of Jim...

Senior meals cutThe political process is often hard to understand, and sometimes even more difficult to swallow. And there’s a piece of it stuck in my throat right now. Articles have frequently appeared in this newspaper, publicity has been on the news, and we’ve tried to educate the citizens of Arkansas that the state ranks No. 1 of all 50 states in senior hunger. Nevertheless, there has been a significant cut in funding for senior center meals programs. Mor...

This is how the Clintons operateTrey Gowdy is forcing Hillary's hand, and now he's in danger. We don't have a moment to lose; Trey Gowdy has summoned Hillary Clinton to appear before the Select Committee on Benghazi for a fully transcribed interview under oath. This is critical, and though it means we're one step closer to justice, it also means the full weight of the Clinton machine is out to crush Rep. Gowdy. Let me explain, in an attempt to minimize the truth, Hillary's o...

Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the New IntoleranceThere has been a fair amount of misinformation recently about the Arkansas Religious Freedom Restoration Act [RFRA] and “discrimination.” The real discrimination is not against the LGBT population but rather against Christians and people of faith. Consider: • Don and Evelyn Knapp own a wedding chapel in Idaho. They respectfully refused to perform homosexual “weddings” due to religious reasons. The city issued a 180 day jail sentence and a $1,0...

Deadline looms for Clean Line commentsArkansas Wildlife Federation has reviewed the proposed High Voltage “Clean Line” Draft Environmental Impact Statement, prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act. The public comment solicitation period extends until April 20. Public comments can be sent to comments@PlainsandEasternEIS.com up to that day. Since 2010, AWF has researched the scope of beneficial, adverse, cumulative impacts and issues associated with this pr...

Railroad tank carsI guess every 20 years or so, things go around and start around again. The NTSB, National Transportation Safety Board, just made an urgent request for upgraded railroad tank cars. We went through this same thing in the mid ’80s when there were a string of derailments and several notable fires. Well, short of building a completely new fleet, we are about the same place again, wanting to upgrade the tank car fleet. Thing is, though, that track a...

Food vendorsThere are a number of food vendors in Russellville that do not have brick and mortar buildings but small, mobile facilities. These vendors are required to have a city permit, they are inspected by the health inspector, they pay sales tax, rent and buy their supplies just like the brick and mortar stores and most are probably paying for their small building. These people are entrepreneurs trying to make money, trying to improve themselves econo...

Questions about the Religious Freedom ActAs I get older, I realize there is much in life I do not understand. For example, this HB 1228 Religious Freedom Act. It appears that Arkansas is a latecomer to the states that have already approved this legislation. As I read it, it basically says that I have the right to act on my religious beliefs and convictions even if my actions could be viewed as some as discriminatory. So here are my questions. If the storeowner is Pentecostal and I we...